To all the econ/business people here!

[Centaurion]

I'm doing a double degree in Mechanical Eng and Commerce (Bachelor of Engineering + Bachelor of Commerce). And it's about time for me to choose my major in Commerce. The majors I can choose between are :

- Accounting
- Business Information Systems
- Econometrics
- Commercial Law
- Economics
- Finance
- International Business
- Industrial Relations and Human Resource Managment
- Managment
- Manadgment Decision Sciences
- Marketing
- Political Economy

Anyone here that has some insight on what to choose? What's BS and what's good?

I'd appreciate it!

 

[DrMetallica]

You're gonna be a busy little bee for the next couple of years it seems like. I'm doing accounting now, but if I were you I'd either do accounting, finance, or economics. Information Systems is good degree to get, but I can't stand that shiat, I utterly hate it..

Marketing and management are crap.

 

[backbreaker]

Are you actually getting advice on what YOUR major is going to be on from people on an Internet board?

That's totally your deciison... we don't know what you do and don't like, and what your strenghts and weaknesses are

 

[Centaurion]

lol yeah dr.Metallica. I was thinking like, since I'm doing an eng degree that takes 4 years, why not do one more year and get a second degree. My workload stays the same, it's just an additional year..

I was leaning towards accounting, but then I realized that I had to do tons of other tests etc to get an accounting license.

And yeah, backbreaker. I was looking for some inout/insight on what the different majors are like and if their just fluffy like marketing and crap. And besides I don't take the Commerce part of my degree as seriously as the eng part. I just want the commerce part to supliment the eng part.

 

[Easy Tiger]

Economics or accounting.

Hard to get a senior management role at a finance company without this sort of background

 

[legolas]

WTF are you doing in Engineering? Do you like to masturbate to third level integrals? Or do those curves in calc 3 look like boobs? :crackup: Jeez man, just do marketing dude. Of course I'm biased

 

[seanchai]

Political Economy is useful, at least in America and Europe. It's a very popular international and theoritical field right now. I'd do that if I didn't hate numbers, but it sounds like you don't, so look into it.

 

[Phoenix_of_the_ashes]

Originally posted by backbreaker
Are you actually getting advice on what YOUR major is going to be on from people on an Internet board?

That's totally your deciison... we don't know what you do and don't like, and what your strenghts and weaknesses are

Yeah I really agree on this, take that what interests you, its going to be with you for the rest of your life.

 

[CLOONEY]

Man, its really all about what you enjoy.

I personally do not enjoy economietrics, as involves maths! I further, hate accounting. Thus, my personal choice would be management and economics.

Read what their about very very intensly, and think about this hard. This will, ultimately, be what employers look at when you are going for a job, and you will probably end up working in the field you majored in!

 

[Celadus]

I am a financial economics major and I enjoy it a lot. I have to write a thesis using econometrics and it is the worst experience of my life. It seems pretty useless to me.

I am not sure what you want to do in the future, but if you are really good at math a lot of companies are starting to hire financial engineers called "quants". From what I understand, they are master and ph.ds that write equations that arbitrage markets and other complex stuff.

Accountants are expendable. Extremely boring work. Plus it does not mix well with engineering. I say Finance or Economics would be the strongest majors especially for getting a high paying job as an executive.

There are a bunch of webpages that tell you the average salary of certain degrees.

It just depends on what your goals are. You should research this a lot.

Celadus

 

[A-Unit]

Re:

First off, I wouldn't take the info of anybody but yourself.

That said, I'd go commerical law or marketing.

Why?

Marketing/Sales pays!!

You get results, you get paid.
You get big results, you get pay.

Upper mobility is limited if you can't sell and close deals. Sure, if you're the engineering type and will tinker around with your idea in a lone shop, how will you sell it though??

Every, and I mean EVERY business person MUST take many marketing classes, understand sales, and have that at least as a minor. The viability of any company is built on sales. The accountants dont' get paid if sales don't happen. No one gets paid if nobody sells. Even secretaries owe their job to those pushing revenue.

I can't believe anybody would enter business and NOT know sales. Business is sales, it's about the deal being done, everything else is just semantics.

OR, law. I think law is fascinating and would match well in engineering, such as patent law, or in the case of my uncle who works in engineering but ends up court b/c of various company faults, law in civil engineering.

To me those match up best for long-term success.

--------------------------

Finance learned college is great, and it forms a strong base, but it's very academic and definitional. It's not practically used, either in financial planning or in basic companies. If you go the route of a Certified Financial Analyst, or Fund Manager, then someone like Putnam would hire you for your PhD or Masters degree, not your BS, since it would take that far to get there. Besides if that's your goal, you better bring more to the table than having ready Benjamin Graham's "Security Analysis."



A-Unit

 

[Bible_Belt]

If you see the possibility of grad school in your future, choose the major that will yield the highest gpa. After getting an mba or other grad degree, no one will care about your exact course of undergrad study.

This advice is based upon a U.S. perspective, btw. It may be different in other countries.